Love in a Time of War
by zombieinvasion
Summary: When a new medic is sent to replace Doc, he finds that they have more in common than he thought, and romance soon blooms. I wrote this in the traditional stle of red vs blue as best as I could. Rated T just because it's Red Vs Blue.I don't own red vs blue
1. Chapter 1: The Ship

Church grumbled as he was woken by a low rumbling sound. "What the-" he was cut off by a long, sleepy yawn. He sat up in his bed and scowled, aware of Tucker's loud snoring on the top bunk. He heard it again, a low rumbling that seemed distant, but this time it was cut off by a loud thud. "Huh?" Tucker woke with a start. "Hey Church." he said. "What time is it?" "Too early," Church growled. He then stretched and took his sniper rifle from the side of the bed and walked outside in only a tank and boxer shorts. "What the fuck?" A ship had landed only 20 or so feet from blue base. "Tucker, come out here!"

Tucker slowly shuffled outside, eyes half closed. He stopped to face Church. "What?" he asked irritably. Church pointed at the ship. "Look, you dumbass, it's a freakin' ship!" Tucker yawned at turned to where Church was pointing. "Holy shit! What the fuck is that thing?" "It's a ship, you idiot." Church responded. "Why is it here?" Tucker asked. Church scratched his head full of spiky jet-black hair. "I don't know." Just then Tex walked out in a green tank top and black shorts with her red hair tied back in a pony tail. "What the hell?" She stopped and looked up at the ship. "Looking good, Tex." "Shut up, Tucker. Whose ship parked in front of the base?" she asked almost angrily. "We don't know." replied Church. The three stood there for a while, to see if anything would happen, but the ship just stayed there, doing absolutely nothing. "Ah, screw this. I'm going back to bed." Church started walking back when Tex stopped him. "Wait, we don't know what's in this thing. For all we know we there could be an enemy waiting to attack us in there." "Yeah, well, you can wait around if you want, but I'm going to get some sleep." "Yeah, me too." Tucker agreed. "See ya in the morning, Tex." Tex got her rifle and waited for a while, then went back to sleep after about an hour.

In the morning, when Tucker and Church walked outside the ship was still there. "Man," Church said "We gotta find out what's in there." "Yeah, man, do you thin there are chicks in there?" Church scowled under his helmet. "Tucker, no." Caboose casually walked outside, happy as always. "Hello, Church! And hello… who is that?" Caboose asked, pointing to the ship. Church and Tucker ignored him and simply went back to staring at it. The blue team waited around for another couple of hours, talking amongst themselves of what wonders the ship might contain, or if it could get them out of the canyon. Tucker sighed out of boredom. "Man, what time is it? I'm bored." Church shrugged. "I dunno. Like ten something, I think." All of a sudden, the ship lurched, and made a creaking sound. "It's opening!" All of Blue Team rushed down to the ship, only to see red team waiting there. "Hey, reds, is this your fault?" Church hadn't really thought of that option. "What? You mean you guys aren't responsible for this?" asked a confused Simmons. "No!" Slowly, the ships door hit the ground with a metallic thud. A figure then made its way down the ramp.


	2. Chapter 2: Blood Gulch Welcomes Esther

When Church saw the mystery person's armor, he realized it was a medic. '_Shit, I forgot.'_

Five months back, in the winter, he asked command for a new medic. Caboose had a fever that made him delirious, Tucker had stomach flu that mad Church wonder if he was pregnant again, and Church had an infected bullet wound on his shoulder that gave him a fever. And there was so much snow, they couldn't even ask for help from red base. Command said they'd send for the medic as soon as possible, but obviously that wasn't soon enough. Caboose went on for a whole month with the fever, Tucker recovered once he stopped eating, and Church put so much gasoline on the wound that his skin basically peeled off. It wasn't pretty. And all the while Doc was prescribing axel grease and orange juice. Well, at least Caboose enjoyed that. _Where was Doc, anyway?_ Church last remembered that he was making breakfast at blue base. The ship's door closed back up, and before they knew it, it was gone. Everyone was still staring at the newcomer. The medic set down its suitcase, and delicately removed its helmet. It was a woman. She had olive skin and hazel-green eyes with chocolate colored ringlets. She tossed her hair so it wasn't smushed against her head. "Hi, I'm Esther Petit. I was sent to be the Blood Gulch medic."

Everyone was still staring. Tucker broke the silence. "Dude, I told you chicks would be on that thing." "What?" asked a confused Esther "What?" Tex said. "We never sent for a medic. We already have one, even if he is an idiot." Church bit his lip. "Uh, acutally, remember that time when we were all really sick? Yeah, uh, I called command to see if they could send a replacement for Doc, and um, I guess they were late." Tex stared at him from under her visor. She was slightly confused, and slightly shocked. She didn't remember anyone being sick, but then there was that time five months ago when she got so sick she was bedridden and half-the time had no idea what was going on. "Oh." was all she said. She walked up to Esther, unsure what to do, held out her hand. "Um, hi, I'm Tex, and this is… Blood Gluch." she said with a general motion towards the crowd. Esther shook Tex's hand and took a look at the crowd. After an awkward silence, Tucker walked up to Esther and took off his helmet to reveal his dark skin, and a sweaty face from a muggy helmet. He smiled at her and held at his hand. Unknowing, she shook it. "Hey there, baby, I'm Tucker, and you can give me a physical whenever you want." "Ugh!" She said, disgusted Esther tried to let go of his hand but he wouldn't let go. She kneed him in the groin and walked over to Church and Tex leaving Tucker in the fetal postion on the ground. "I see you've met Tucker." Tex said. "Hmph." was all she said.

"So, who do I need to be introduced to? I think that would help prevent any incidents like the previous." Tex chuckled. "Normalcy isn't really Blood Gulch's style. But I can introduce you if you want." Esther smiled. "Thank you, I'd like that. Hold on." Esther picked up her helmet and her suitcase, ignoring the fact that Tucker was still on the ground, and walked back over to Tex. "Mmkay, who do I need to meet?" Tex motioned to Church. "This here's Church. He doesn't do much." Church ignored Tex, and shook Esther's hand. " 'Round here we go by last name, so, do you really want to be called Petit? I mean, we have some guy named Donut, but…" Esther shrugged and put her helmet back on. "Just call me Esther." Tex walked her over to Caboose, who was swaying back and forth on his feet. "So you're last name's Petit? Like petite? What is that, French?" Esther nodded. "My dad is French, and my mom is from the Caribbean, the Domincan Republic, as it was called." Tex nodded. "Hm, funny, our other medic is French too, I think so, at least. Dufresne." Esther stopped. "Other Medic?" Tex stopped beside her. "Oh yeah… See, we sent you as a replacement, our other medic doesn't know shit." Esther frowned under her visor and continued walking. "Oh."

"And this is the village idiot, Caboose." Tex said. Caboose stopped swaying. "Hello, Caboose." said Esther. "Hello, Doc." Esther looked at Tex. "Is that what you mean?" Tex nodded. "Yep." "So," Tex said " I'm guessing you want to meet the red team?""Well, I did come here to be a medic for both teams. We're low on people, y'know." "Yeah, we know. Well, you seem capable of looking after yourself. I'm gonna go back to base. See ya." Esther waved. "Nice meeting you, Tex." Esther watched as Blue Team made its way back to base, and saw the red team was discussing something. She walked over to the group and introduced herself. "Hello, red team. I'm Esther Petit, and I'm the new Blood Gulch medic." "Nice to meet you, Esther." Simmons said. "Sooo…" Said Grif. "Are you any better than Doc, cause' frankly, we need a medic that can actually do his, er, her job." Esther was confused as to who this 'Doc' was. "Um, who's Doc?" Donut piped up. "Doc was our last medic." Esther smiled "Ah, thank you, Mr…" "My name's Donut." "Thank you, Donut. I can assure both you and blue team that I am a trained medic. I used to be a doctor back home. Before I went into psychology, that is."

Simmons spoke "You're a doctor _and_ a psychlolgist?" "Yes sir." she confirmed. "Now, is anyone in need of medical assitance?" The red team exchanged glances. Simmons shrugged. "Not that we know of." Esther smiled. "Mmkay. I'm gonna go check up on the blues then. Nice meeting you all." And just like that, she turned away and made her towards blue base. "What now?" Grif asked


	3. Chapter 3: Esther Meets Doc

Esther walked in on the blues enjoying their breakfast. "Um, hi." Everyone looked up. "Hey Esther." Church greeted. Tex nodded. Tucker said nothing and concentrated on his omelette. Doc was shocked. "Um, is anyone going to introduce me?" Church spoke up "Uh, yeah, Doc, this is the medic we hired-" "You hired." Tex corrected. "Uh, right, I hired to replace you." Doc looked shocked and hurt. "You, you're replacing me?" He looked as if he might cry for a second, then became angry. "What makes this guy any better?!" Esther took off her helmet. "Um, hello, Doc, is it?" Doc looked thrown off by the fact that Esther was a woman. "Uh, I, Church, why?" he finally concluded. "Because you suck as a medic! Tell me how axel grease and orange juice is supposed to cure the stomach flu!" Esther suppressed giggle. Doc just looked down, feeling embarrassed. Just then Caboose interrupted. "Doc, can I have more orange juice?" Doc continued to stare at the ground. "Not now Caboose! Look, Church, can I at least stay? I don't have anywhere to go." Church looked thoughtful for a second. "Will you still cook for us?" he asked. "Sure." "Okay then, you can stay." Doc smiled. "Aw, thanks buddy." Church scowled. "Don't ever calll me that." Church took his place at the table and ate his omelettes. Reluctantly, Doc turned to Esther. "Uh, Miss, would you like some omelettes?" She met his blue eyes, and they locked for a moment. "Um, yes I'd love some." Doc swallowed and went back to the stove. "Ow!" Doc cried out. "What?" Tucker asked. Doc held his right hand close to his chest. "I burned myself." Church dumped his plate in the sink. "See Doc. It's a good thing Esther's around." Tucker smiled as he followed Church outside. "It suuure is." Tex swat him on the back of the head and followed him outside. Esther took Doc's hand. "Oh, let me see." She inspected his hand carefully. "Ouch. Let em get my first aid kit, you burnt yourself pretty bad there." Esther left through the kitchen door to get her first aid. She came back and set it on the table. "Why don't you sit down." Doc sat down at the table and Esther took the seat opposite of him. She opened the first aid kit and took some ointments out. She picked up a green one and put some on the burn. Then she took out some guaze and wrapped it around the burn on his thumb. She held his hand in hers. "There."she said. "That should do it. Put some aloe vera on it each day, and keep it wrapped up. It should heal in about a week." She smiled at him. And their eyes locked. They both blushed and she looked away. She set his hand down and closed the first-aid kit then turned to face him. "So, what do you guys do all day?" Doc sighed. "Nothing really. Well, the other guys sit around all day shooting rocks, but I'm a pacifist. I don't believe in guns…" Esther tucked some curls that had fallen int her face behind her ear. "Really? I'm against the whole war thing, but I was drafted because they really needed medics. Oh, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Esther Petit."

Doc smiled goofily. "I'm Frank DuFresne. But everyone calls me Doc. So, you're really against war?" Esther smiled. "Yeah. It's nice to finally meet someone who thinks thinks so. But don't get me wrong, I'm trained to save my ass if I have to, but that doesn't mean I go parade with a pistol at my side all the time." Doc looked a little surprised that Esther was trained for combat, but still appreciated the fact that she had no intention of being here. Caboose popped up from behind Doc, startling them. "Can someone _please_ get me some more orange juice? I want my orange juice." Esther sighed and walked over to the fridge by the stove and poured Caboose some orange juice. "Thank you nice lady." Esther smiled at him. "Anytime, Caboose." She watched him guzzle down the orange juice, till she noticed Doc was staring at her. Just as he glanced at him, he blushed bright red and walked outside.


	4. Chapter 4: After Dinner

It was about ten 'o' clock when blue team had finished up their spaghetti dinner. The boys were outside on the look out for nothing in particular. They were mostly shooting at rocks and chatting. Tex and Esther were in their room getting ready for bed. Esther sat with her legs crossed on her bed and pulled her cropped curls into a pony tail. She wore a purple tank with the red-cross medic symbol on it, paired with grey and white plaid pants. She sighed and layed over the covers of her top bunk with her eyes open. The part she probably hated most about being stationed at a new place was getting used to it. The last base she was stationed at was bigger, and had ten times as many residents. Blood Gulch felt so desolate and lonely, and it made her a bit sad.

Tex walked in wearing her green tank and black shorts and her long red hair back in a ponytail. "Hey there Esther." Esther sat up and sighed. "Hey, Tex."she said in a monotone. "What's wrong?" Tex asked from the bottom bunk. Esther shrugged and pulled the covers over herself as she laid down. "Ah, it's nothing. Just a little tired is all. Long day." "Hm." Tex got up and turned out the light and shut the curtains. She went back to bed. "Well, night Esther." Esther turned to her side. "Night Tex."

Church was shooting rocks with a sniper rifle while Tucker watched. Caboose was sitting on the ground, doing nothing in particular, and Doc was leaning against the building which was their base. Doc spoke up. "So… What do you guys think of Esther?" Tucker turned around to face him. "Man is she fine! Hey Doc, aren't the medics supposed to give us physicals?" Church chimed in. "I have to admit, she's hot." Doc blushed under his visor. "Why do you ask?" Church faced him and set the rifle down. Doc fumbled. "Uhh, well I don't know, I-" Church cut him off. "You like her?" "Um…" he swallowed. "Dude," Tucker said. "I thought you were gay." Doc flushed redder with anger, but couldn't think of a comeback.

Church and Tucker exchanged glances. It was silent for a moment, till they broke out in laughter. "You-you-" Church said inbetween fits of laughter. Doc stayed where he was, angry as hell under his visor. They finally cooled down. Tucker was first to speak. "If anyone's going to get her, it's me." Church snorted. "Right, because every girl we've come across has fallen for you."

"Whaddaya mean?"Tucker said. "Sister was all over me." Church snorted again. "Yeah, till she was shot and Grif had her shipped back home." "Ah, screw you Church. I don't see you getting any action out of Tex." That was it. Church scowled and turned around to shoot more rocks. Tucker smirked with defeat, and turned back to Doc, but he was gone. When Tucker turned to Caboose he saw that he'd fallen asleep where he was leaning against base. He nudged him with his rifle. "Sheila!" Caboose woke with a start. "Oh, hello, Private Tucker." Tucker sighed and walked back inside base.


	5. Chapter 5: Breakfast & Boredom

The next morning Doc woke early to make the base breakfast as was the deal. As usual, he wore his purple medic shirt paired with khaki shorts. He went straight to the kitchen and went to work. As usual, Tex was first to rise, always dressed for the cool morning weather in her long-sleeved black thermal and sweats. She went straight for the coffee-maker, one of the bases most beloved gadgets. "Good Morning, Tex. Would you be interested in some pancakes and bacon?" asked a preppy Doc. "Yeah, sure." she muttered, not looking up from her coffee. Doc sighed. Everyone at base was so mean. Well, except Esther. He smiled at the thought of Esther. Church was right. He _did_ like Esther. He just wasn't sure how to show it.

He was interrupted by Tex yelling. "You! Hey, YOU! The pancakes are burning." Doc looked down to see that she was right. "Ah!" Careful not to burn his thumb again, Doc used some tongs to drop the now crispy and brown pancakes onto a plate. He turned around to set them on the counter and stopped when Esther was standing behind him. "Oh! Um, hi, Esther." "Morning Doc, do you need help with breakfast?" "Um, no! It's alright, I'm okay. I'm fine, perfect!" "Uh, okay, then." Esther took the seat opposite of Tex and rested her head on hand. Church and Caboose walked in, already dressed and sat down at the table. As everyone ate their breakfast, there was an odd silence that didn't exist before. When it was just Tex and the boys, everyone walked in in what they wore to bed and ate whatever they could out of the they thought of something more.

Esther pulled her cropped chocolatey brown curls back into a short ponytail, and put on her helmet. She picked up a rifle and followed Tex out of the room through the hallway into the kitchen, and out on the base's fort. She saw that everyone was already outside, also in their armor. "So," Esther muttered to Tex. "What exactly is it that we do out here?" Tex continued looking across the canyon when she answered. "Well, we spy on the reds, shoot at rocks, shoot at the reds if they come near." Esther furrowed her brow. "Is that all? I don't think I'm allowed to shoot my patients." Tex gave a half-hearted laugh. "Well if you get bored, you can actually talk to one of these morons." Tex smiled where it was unseen under her visor and continued. "But don't worry about the whole 'shooting your patients' crap, we don't see much action here. It's basically the same morons over there, only they wear a red uniform. Go figure."

Esther sighed. The one place she had to be assigned to, Blood Gulch, had to be such a drag. She tried to think on the bright side. _At least I won't have to fight anyone._ she thought. _Hey, this won't be so bad, instead of all that pointless blood and gore, I can lounge around and chat!_ Esther liked her new idea. Tex set off somewhere on the far left side of the base, and didn't realize she was gone. Wanting to meet the crew, she walked a while to right, and found Church keeping a lookout with the sniper rifle and Tucker standing by his side. "Hey." she greeted. Tucker turned around. "Hey baby." Esther rolled her eyes. Church set down the rifle and turned around too. "Uh, hi." They all stood there for a second, in silence. "So how are you liking Blood Gulch?" Church asked. "Um, it's alright, I suppose." she said. "Something about it though; it feels very lonely." Tucker jumped in. "Aw, you don't have to be lonely girl, maybe you can give me that physical I've been waiting on, the base is empty…" This guy was too much.

She thought about kicking him again then thought better of it. She calmed herself down, before she did anything rash. "What makes you think I'd be interested in you?" Always quick on his feet, Tucker came back with a line. "Because we're both doctors." Esther was shocked. How many failed medics were there here? "Doctor?" she asked. "Doctor of love." _Is this guy serious? _she thought. He walked up and put his arm around her. "So whaddaya say?" Okay, enough was enough. And it didn't help that Church just stood there watching. She wacked him on the head with the rifle and he hit the ground with a loud thud. "You perv! What type of girl do you think I am?" She continued to cuss at him in French, finishing off with a loud 'Sacre Bleu!' Church in total awe, stood where he was, fearful she might lash out at him too.

Esther took in a deep breath and walked away. When Esther was out of hearing distance, Tucker stood up took off his helmet and rubbed his head. "Too bad Tex wasn't here." Church said. "Fuck. Man you gotta admit, that was fucking hot." "What the fuck, man? She nearly bashed your head in, and you think it was _hot?_" Tucker smiled in the direction Esther had walked. "Yeah, that was _such_ a turn-on. No way I'm letting this one past me." Church rolled his eyes. "This is why I hate you, man." He turned around and went back to shooting rocks.

Esther had walked around all the way around the base when she saw a very irritated Tex and Caboose babbling on to her about something. Esther thought about stopping to chat, but Tex looked pretty ticked, and she seemed like a person who shouldn't be messed with. So she decided to walk the whole perimeter of the base and go back inside when she bumped into Doc."Oh, uh sorry there." He looked down to see that it was Esther he bumped into. He was probably the tallest person a blue base; he was about 6 feet. Esther was the shortest, a delicate 5'5. "Oh, sorry Doc." she said, looking up. "So, whatcha been up to?" he asked. "Oh, nothing." she said looking down. She shifted so that she was leaning on her rifle, looking up at him. "So, what do you guys do for entertainment round' here?" Doc thought for a second. She interrupted his thoughts. "I mean, y'know, other than shooting rocks." Doc chuckled. "Well I like to go out in the canyon and do yoga." She did a double-take. "Wait, what?" Doc repeated himself. "Yoga. I like to go out in the middle of the canyon and practice yoga." Esther looked down and back up at Doc again. "Um, okay. Let's go that." "Great!" She and Doc both went to their bunks came back oddly both in their medic t-shirts and sweats.


	6. Chapter 6: Falling for Each Other

Hey it's zombieinvasion here! For any readers I may have, I'm terribly sorry about the wait. I've just restatred school, and after recovering from my super extreme red vs blue obsession, I considered leaving the story unfinished. However, I found my slef still day-dreaming about Esther and Doc, and even made a version of her for my Sims 2 Blood Gulch. So, after rereading what I had last read, I finished up the chapter,(which I realize is pretty short.) and decided to continue my story. As for my obsession with red vs blue, it's not quite as strong, but a lot healthier, and still going strong. I plan to finish up this story soon, and make a sequel focused around every character in Blood Gluch, much like the show. Construtive criticism is very much appreciated, and also tell me your opinions on the story. To be truthful, this story was hatched around a daydream I had about Doc of all people falling in love, with a strange twist, but I think I may leave that for the sequel. ALSO, please refer my story to any Red vs Blue, communities! I would like to have my story preserved, instead o uploadng it every other month. I'm sorry for delaying you from reading the story, please, enjoy.

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When he saw the two reds walk back to base, Church put down the sniper rifle and leaned against the wall which was blue base's fort, though with the little action that happened here, he thought of it as a balcony. "What happened?" Tucker asked. Church sighed irritably. _Why can't he find something else to do? Like… Talk to Caboose or something. _"They went back inside their base, Tucker." Tucker stood there for a second. "Wanna shoot some rocks?" Church stood up to face him. "No, Tucker. Can't you go do something else? Like, something that _isn't_ bugging me all day?" "What the fuck man, what do you expect me to do?" "I dunno." Church said picking up the sniper rifle again. "Go hit on that freaky Esther chick or something." Tucker rubbed his helmet. "Maybe when my headache goes away…"

Church searched the canyon, when he something caught his eye. "What the hell?" He focused on it. "Hey, Tucker I guess you won't be able to hit on Esther anyway, she's doing some weird stuff with Doc, wait, what, what the fuck?" "Lemme see!" Tucker grabbed the rifle from Church, who did nothing. "Where? What are they doing? Looks kinky." Church shrugged. "I dunno. Probably something gay." "Or not, Doc _likes_ Esther, remember- Whoa! I didn't think guys could stretch like that."

Esther had to squint as the setting sun shone in her eyes. She and Doc were walking back to base bare foot, still in their yoga clothes. "Thanks for suggesting this Doc." she said. "Today was great." The day went by well. She was a little surprised he suggested yoga, considering most of the guys here were, well, typical guys. Then she thought he was gay, but thought otherwise. After a while they just talked, then she went back to base to get her gun, that way she could shoot at rocks out in the open. She shook her head. Blood Gulch was so bizarre. At places she was previously stationed, there was constant warfare, and if you walked outside not wearing armor you were screwed. She sighed. _I guess this is my new home._

Esther exhaled. It was so peaceful out here. It had been a whole month and a half since she'd been stationed at Blood Gulch, and not much happened. She still beat on Tucker for hitting on her. Church was Church. Tex was friendlier when she finally witnessed Esther get angry at Tucker. Caboose officially declared her his friend. And she and Doc ha become good friends. They went out just about everyday to practice yoga or just get away from the other blues and talk. She really liked him. "Esther?" "Yes?" "I'm glad you were stationed here." Esther smiled and blushed. "Thanks Doc. I'm glad, that you were sent here before me." "Thanks." Esther looked up at him. She got up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips.

She stood back on her feet and blushed. He blinked. He was speechless. She blushed redder and looked down. It had been a couple of minutes till he finally spit out a: "Thank, you?" She raised one eyebrow and looked back up at him. "Um, wow, Esther. I…" "Sorry." she apologized. "I thought, I dunno." He cleared his throat. "Um, no, no, I…" He was at loss for words. "I mean, well, you can do it again, if you want." She looked up at him confused, then got up on her toes again and kissed him lightly on the lips, only this time it was a little longer. They were quiet. He smoothed back his rusty reddish brown hair. "So… does this mean we're an, item, now?" Esther shrugged. "I mean if you're okay with it." They were an awkward couple. "Yeah, it's fine, I just didn't expect, I didn't think you felt the same." Esther smiled softly to herself as she stared at the ground. "How should we break it to base?" Doc grimaced. He forgot that part. "We should probably discuss that."


	7. Chapter 7: Walking hand in hand

"What do you mean?" she asked. Doc sighed and looked forward. "Well…" he said, still staring ahead. "It's just that, well, wouldn't you feel… pressured, with the whole base knowing we're together?" Her eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean, _pressured_?"

Doc bit his lip so hard it nearly drew blood. He flushed bright red. "Oh, no no no no! Not, _that _way. I mean just in general, it would feel very er, tense." "Oh. I guess you're right." She sighed and looked thoughtful. "Maybe we should just _not _announce it? I'm sure someone can take a hint, right?" Doc flashed back to the night where he'd talked to Church and Tucker about Esther. "Yeah, I guess you're right." The two stood there, unsure of what to do. "So, what now?" Esther smiled. "We could walk hand and hand into the sunset." Doc chuckled. "Okay." And the two did just that.


End file.
